A digital video recorder can record television programs for subsequent viewing by a user. Existing digital video recorders allow a user to overcome the rigid time schedule according to which television programs are typically broadcast. For example, an existing digital video recorder can be programmed to record a television program to allow viewing at a time that is more convenient for a user. In addition, existing digital video recorders often include a number of features that further enhance viewer experience. For example, certain digital video recorders include circular buffers or time-shift buffers that allow a user viewing a “live” broadcast of a television program to pause viewing at a certain point and, at a later time, resume viewing from that point.
When a user is not using an existing digital video recorder, the digital video recorder often is simply switched off or operates in an idle or stand-by mode. It would be desirable for a digital video recorder to perform certain tasks during a time interval when a user is away from the digital video recorder or away from home. In particular, it would be desirable to exploit video processing capabilities of the digital video recorder to perform video surveillance during such time interval.
It is against this background that a need arose to develop the apparatus and method described herein.